U.S. equities ended Friday mixed after a volatile week, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 0.98% to 53,277.01, while the S&P 500 rose 0.43% to 7,674.37 and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.43% to 26,180.45. Healthcare shares led the Dow’s advance, supported by gains in Merck and Johnson & Johnson. The S&P 500’s weekly decline of 1.4% snapped a three-week winning streak, while the Nasdaq and Dow posted their second straight weekly losses, down 2% and 0.9% respectively.
Treasury yields climbed as investors reassessed interest-rate expectations. The 10-year note yield rose more than 3 basis points to 4.734%, while the 30-year bond yield increased to 5.273%. Market pricing for a Federal Reserve rate hike in September rose to 35%, with the probability of a December move increasing to 66%. The shift follows recent economic data and comments from policymakers, with July’s personal consumption expenditures report and U.S. GDP data due before the Jackson Hole symposium.
Nvidia is scheduled to release its second-quarter earnings on August 26, following a recent partnership with six major financial institutions to provide over $500 billion in financing for AI infrastructure. The company’s results are widely anticipated to influence broader semiconductor and technology sector performance, with other notable earnings reports from Intuit, CrowdStrike, HP, Salesforce and Marvell also on the calendar.
Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh is set to speak at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium on August 28, where investors will seek signals on monetary policy direction. The event follows a week of market turbulence, including a 22% weekly advance in Bitcoin that boosted crypto-linked stocks. Analysts at JPMorgan remain constructive on equities into year-end, citing a potential “risk appetite healing” in semiconductors and a Fed on hold scenario that could broaden the market rally.
Morgan Stanley emphasized a preference for large-cap quality stocks and AI adopters, while warning that oil prices pose a near-term risk to Energy equities. Evercore ISI described the recent market swings as a shift from a period of low volatility to heightened activity, with upcoming catalysts including former President Trump’s economic policy announcements, bond buyback plans and Nvidia’s earnings. Goldman Sachs highlighted six stocks favored by both hedge funds and mutual funds this quarter, noting their combined year-to-date return of 29% compared with 16% for the equal-weight S&P 500.
